Lunchbox Theatre

Legal Mandate:
To perform one-act plays at the noon hour for office workers and shoppers in downtown Calgary; to reach an audience of people who are not yet regular theatre goers and also to create a new theatre audience; to establish a permanent theatre company to provide employment opportunities for Western Canadian artists; to meet a need (lunch time entertainment) which is not presently being met by other theatres in this area; and to advance the public’s education in the dramatic arts and to offer entertainment for the benefit of the Calgary theatre going community.
Artistic Mission Statement:
From a foundation of noon-hour performances, Lunchbox Theatre strives to create, produce and disseminate original one-act plays, with a focus on new Canadian works which examine and explore socially relevant issues in a contemporary context. We strive for a balance between works that reflect our audience and their particular world and those that aim to take the audience to a different place and open their eyes to fresh experiences and new understandings.
A Brief History:
Lunchbox Theatre plays a unique role in the Calgary community, and is currently celebrating it’s 42nd year. Founders Bartley Bard, Margaret Bard and Betty Gibb began producing live theatre in the heart of Calgary in 1975, and distilled the experience into productions that could be presented over the course of a single noon hour. Lunchbox Theatre currently has a main stage season of six to eight productions running an average of three weeks, as well as our annual co-presentation with the High Performance Rodeo, the RBC Emerging Director’s Showcase, and the Stage One Festival of new play development. Shows still happen primarily at noon, with the addition of a Thursday and Friday 6:10 Happy Hour performances.
In 1988 Lunchbox Theatre introduced the Petro-Canada Stage One New Play Festival and when Suncor Energy took over Petro-Canada in 2009 they continued their commitment to this initiative. The Stage One Festival is one of the cornerstones of Lunchbox Theatre. To date over 200 new plays have been developed and many of them have premiered on the Lunchbox Theatre stage; Lunchbox is the most prolific developer of one act plays in Canada, with many of our plays going on to productions elsewhere. Each year nine plays are given dramaturgical services and workshop time with a professional director and actors, followed by public presentations and feedback to enable the playwright to advance the play to the next stage of development. The Stage One Festival is recognized as the premiere one-act development process in Canada, and one of the most fruitful development to production processes in the country.
In 2005, Lunchbox Theatre introduced the Emerging Directors Program, a unique program that annually offers mentoring and practical experience to a promising up-and-coming director. The successful applicant acts as an assistant director with a minimum of three professional theatre directors working in the Lunchbox Theatre season. The Emerging Director is involved in all stages of production, working closely with the mentoring directors for input and feedback, and the process culminates in a full showcase production directed by the RBC Emerging Director at the end of the season.
After 33 years in the Bow Valley Square in a space fully subsidized by a landlord/sponsor, a 1.6 million dollar capital campaign was successfully launched and the 2008/2009 season marked the first in the new “made for Lunchbox” space at the foot of the Calgary Tower. With seating for up to 150 people, the studio theatre is a more intimate, vibrant, and flexible performance space allowing for performances in the round, alley, thrust, or proscenium. Our black box theatre and rehearsal hall are also accessible to the broader theatre community.
In 2010 Lunchbox Theatre added the “Education Comes Alive - Building Tomorrow’s Audience Program” which earmarks two specific shows in the season as of interest to the region’s students. The tickets are subsidized through a sponsorship by Nexen, allowing students to attend for only $5. Study guides are provided to all attending school groups, and talk back sessions with the artists are offered after the performance. We are firmly committed to offering as many opportunities as possible for students to be exposed to professional theatre.